United States automotive

US scales back targets for car emission reductions

August 9th 2018 | United States | Fuel sources

The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) on August 2nd proposed modifications to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for cars and light trucks previously set for the years 2021-2025. The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule aims to scale back the targets for fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions set just before the previous administration, led by Barack Obama, left office in 2016.

Under the Obama-era rules, US carmakers were required to cut greenhouse gas emissions from light vehicles in two phases, covering model years 2012-16 and 2017-25. By 2025 the programme would have resulted in average industry fleet-wide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of 163 grams/mile—equivalent to 54.5 mpg. While the first set of CAFE rules have already been implemented, the second phase has been only partially implemented as carmakers develop and roll out new models.

Under the SAFE proposals, the targets for model years 2021 to 2026 will now be reined back to match those required for model year 2020. The EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) argue that the old CAFE rules would have required carmakers to raise vehicles prices by an average US$2,340 in order to cover the costs of developing new fuel-saving technologies. The proposed SAFE rules would therefore allow more car buyers to buy new cars, which are more fuel-efficient, have fewer emissions and are safer than older vehicles.

The agencies, which are reported to have analysed the costs and benefits of eight different proposals, argue that their preferred SAFE rules will save more than US$500bn in societal costs and reduce highway fatalities by 12,700 lives. These calculations cover the lifetime of vehicles ending with model year 2029.

However, environmental groups argue that the new SAFE rules mean that carmakers will no longer have to invest in improvements to fuel efficiency and emission reduction, with long-term effects for climate change and air quality. The state government of California, along with 18 other states, has vowed to continue with the CAFE targets, by using the waiver granted to states under the Clean Air Act. They have also threatened legal action if the federal government pushes ahead with its plans to revoke that waiver.

Given these states account for around half of US car sales, the dispute raises the prospect that carmakers will have to develop two sets of vehicles to comply with regulations. Carmakers have issued a cautious welcome for the SAFE proposals, but General Motors has said that it wants a "one national 50-state programme". The proposals are open for consultation for 60 days.